Friday night – TechJam

Wide awake because aI jsut passed a car driving the wrong direction in our lane of the interstate !. Police in hot pursuit !> Hoppy everyone’s ok !

Busy day.. one nice aspect as a stop at Tech Jam. organized by our good freinds at 7Days. I ran a panel on Industry 4.0 and the Vermont Economy.. Heres the blurb

The Next Disruption: Industry 4.0

BUSINESS TRACK 3:15-4:15 P.M.

As automation becomes more sophisticated, companies from fulfillment centers to advanced manufacturers will need to adjust to what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution: robotics working with computers, devices, and algorithms to achieve higher productivity. This new system — the Internet of Things — has major implications for the workforce. In this session, organized by the Agency of Commerce and Community Development, experts on cybersecurity, manufacturing, workforce and IoT will discuss the impact of this new industrial paradigm, and what implications it holds for Vermont businesses. The discussion will be moderated by IBM Fellow, John Cohn. Panelists include:

David Yao, Director Manufacturing Engineering, GlobalFoundries

Gabe Koss, Software Developer and Manager, Pwnie Express

Bob Zider, Director/CEO, Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center

Erik Monsen, associate professor at the University of Vermont’s Grossman School of Business

Location: Upstairs Room A

. We had a great set of speakers.

the audience was engaged .. the conversation was fun and lively

after our panel came the awards. my good buddy Jake won ‘Newcomer of the year !!!”]

my freind Margaruitte’s company ‘Game Theory’ one the Innovation award

i only had a few minutes after the panel to run aroudn technjam.. /. lots of cool stuff.. not enough time to talk

went home and picked up Diane.. first stop was Sikoras.. where i ran into my old friend Yakata-san from Tokyo ! He’s spending some time in vermont working on a project..t hats a pretty small world !